Strength reversed/Knight of Cups.  The Strength card (Fire, hot/separates and dry/shapes, and spontaneous, impulsive and energetic energy; Leo, “I am,” passionate, dramatic, egotistical; Teth, sieve or basket, digestion; and the Path between Geburah, the place where forms and structures are challenged or affirmed, and Chesed, the place where forms and structures are stabilized and nurtured) in an upright position is about having the strength to endure.  Because my card is reversed today, I might find that I have trouble hanging in there.  Sometimes we react to lethargy by overcompensating, and I also need to be aware of that danger. Patience is the key; if I don’t feel peak, I should wait.  The Knight of Cups (cusp of Aquarius, “I know,” friendships, the group, cause-oriented, and Pisces, “I believe,” feelings, duality, suffering, soul growth) emphasizes feelings, and he is hopefully going to offer a bit of balance to my reversed Strength card. However, there is danger here, for the Knight of Cups can get lost in his imagination or dreams; with the Strength card reversed (and thus indicating a possible difficulty with controlling my emotions), the Knight might do more harm than good.

My Thoth card is the Two of Cups.  “Love” The Two of Cups (Venus, beauty, allure, relationships, in Cancer, “I feel,” sensitive, family and home oriented, tenacious, moody) is about love and connections, usually about relationships and commonalities.  The positive and caring connections represented by this card might be my saving grace today.  Love is important, and I need to feel the love.

My Legacy card is the Knight of Swords reversed, flavored by The Magician reversed.  The Knight of Swords (the cusp of Taurus, “I have,” sensual, stubborn, cautious, and Gemini, “I think,” curious, talkative, dual, intelligent) is brave, insightful, courageous, and logical, as well as rude, domineering, critical and sarcastic.  Since my Knight is reversed, I will need to be careful about applying his logic.  Yes, a bit of calm logic might help today, but too much logic will only create new imbalances. Logic and analysis might not be the best tools for me today!  The Magician corresponds with Air (hot/separates and wet/adapts, and quick and animated energy which usually presents problems or challenges), Mercury (reason, intelligence, orderliness, communication), Beth (house; builder) and the Path between Binah (female, receptive energy and the origin of form and structure) and Kether (the source, limitless possibility); he takes action with confidence and is willing to work hard to manifest his goals. My Magician is reversed, and it is flavoring my reversed Knight of Swords.  The power to accomplish things is there, but the motives might not be the best.  Thankfully, that Two of Cups is in the mix; if my Knight and Magician remember the power of love, all will be well.

My 6-digit date number is 10, the end of a cycle, which reduces further to 1, the number of position, potential and possibility, not manifestation.

My horoscopes: “Prepare for a surprise today, Sagittarius. Perhaps it will come from someone else or perhaps it will come from you. Either way, by evening you're apt to be feeling quite lovey-dovey and rather spaced out. Give in to the lethargic attitude that might sweep over you. This is your time to play, so put work aside and have a good time while letting your emotions dictate your actions.”

And: “Whether your realize it or not, you will have the upper hand today, so take advantage of this opportunity. Things may be going so well that you might not even notice what a fantastic time you are having. Sit back and take a moment to appreciate your good fortune. Others will gravitate to you naturally, and you will find that you always seem to have the right answers to the questions at hand.”

My Shadowscapes Insight is regarding the Nine of Wands.  The image on this card is the sentinel, the one who keeps careful guard on all that is valuable; this sentinel does not know if danger approaches, and he has not yet needed to defend against danger, but yet he stands watch.  He takes his job seriously, and today, I am being told to watch and guard, as well. 

First, I’ve gotta say it: Hooray! Mercury is Direct!  This has been the worst Mercury Rx I can remember, and I am glad it is over. 

Okay, after the huge feelings and emotions of my Aha! Moment yesterday, we are back to chopping wood, carrying water and washing clothes.  But actually, my Cosmic Download yesterday is related to my current studies: Astrology. 

We’ve talked about the Cardinal signs and how they manifest in part through the effects of each of the elements, we’ve talked about the Mutable signs, who manifest by using their particular elements as tools, and we’ve talked about the Fixed signs, which each create stability through the effects of their particular element.  So, knowing the meanings of the “personality group” that each sign belongs to, and knowing which element that each sign corresponds to, should allow us to have a basic understanding of each individual sign!  This is just like the Tarot Minor Arcana cards, which can be understood through knowing the correspondences to each element (suit), and the correspondences to each number. 

The next thing we need to think about are the planets.  Part of what a horoscope tells us is the placement of the planets within our personal chart.  A planet moving through a particular Zodiac sign can influence or activate the characteristics of that sign while the planet remains within the sign, so the planets are important.

In Western Astrology, the planets in our solar system represent basic drives or impulses within our psyche. The Sun, the Moon, and recently, Pluto and Ceres, are all considered to be planets for the purposes of Astrology. Each planet also rules one or two zodiac signs. Traditionally, rulership of the signs was based on seasonal derivations and astronomical measurement; the planets that were the brightest in the sky were given rulership of the brightest months of the year.  Saturn, the coldest and most distant classical planet, was given to the coldest months of the year. It is noteworthy that the modern rulerships do not follow the same logic. The three modern planets have each been assigned rulership of a zodiac sign by astrologers, but not by the same logic as the classical planets.

The seven classical planets are the heavenly bodies known to the ancients; they are believed to represent the seven basic drives in every individual. Astrologers call Mercury, Venus and Mars the “personal planets” as they represent the most immediate drives in our psyche.

Next post will talk about the individual planets. 

$>